Disposal of Special Collections

It was thoroughly invigorating being able to attend the Historic Libraries Forum Annual conference on Tuesday. It is not every day you can attend a conference on the topic of “guarding against the disposal of collections” with a long list of guest speakers from special collections.

We had a Pressi presentation from Katie Flanagan (who was ill and couldn’t attend but still sent a copy of her speech) setting the scene about the need to build awareness of inappropriate disposal of special collections and the need for libraries to become watchdogs of this active through increasing social media campaigns. Also highlighting the idea about having a more pragmatic approach to ensure that there are less secretive sales of books and keep collections together in the public domain, if they do indeed need to change hands. 

After such an introduction I just knew I was in for a good debate. A lot of problems that libraries face is the need for more storage and space and the lack of money to invest in core library collections. I was therefore completed enthralled by the following speech from David McKitterick, keynote speaker on this topic. After speaking at length about the University of London blunder to sell several Shakespeare’s folios to where public opinion through newspapers and social media mobilised to act on the provocation of such a valuable collection, David laid out some truths that some libraries try heavily to avoid or are in denial about.

Whether it is the story of Wigan Public Libraries or Birmingham Law Society, quite simply all libraries have to discards books! However, he pointed out that libraries change with each generation and it is important for collection policies to be updated to reflect this. Lastly, he pressed the matter that we as librarians should remember that libraries are not museums. Where museums have “one-off” special items that can never be duplicated or found anywhere else in the world; books have a contextual value in a holdings collection. Therefore, it is important to avoid bulk selling decisions without consultation as it is most likely result in wasteful mishandling by the library and antiquarian booksellers that acquire them or lead to auctioning in fear of scarcity of space which may only raise funds and create space for the short-term. 

The section of the speech that really surprised me is, what should one really do about this? Well there is the obvious answer of digitalising the collection. However, with problem areas that mention in my last post about the trends in information sector it is important to understand that digitalisation may not last forever with losses being inevitable and hard drive space needing constant upgrading. So the second option is to look at collection policies in disposals that have worked, then adapt and utilise it. The prime example for this was the scheme of the Accreditation by Museums Libraries and Archives Council. The point of most importance in Accreditation 2011 is to balance the aspect of collection management with users needs. In addition, research collections that share diverse views and ensure that each generation has responsibility to pass on information onto the next to ensure that a sale of any kind is ethical with a public purpose.  

It is all well and good to say this but within libraries, one the core issues is that there is not chair or body to ensure such implementation happens nationally. For some this is strength for independent thinking for different collections but also a weakness as librarians constantly have to be reactive to news of any sales proposals or silent auction of collections. As a first step, librarians need to improve how they document their acquisitions for public access because a neglected library means no public interest. With no public interest the collection become obsolete to libraries short on money. Thus feeding the cycle of disposal for more space.

By far the biggest threats that I will take away from this speech, is that libraries still do not know what they own. Furthermore, with each passing year, a librarian’s skills become less valued in a world of increasing digitalisation. Librarians therefore, must be able to communicate with senior members of staff or those with expertise in fields that they do not know enough in and make a conscious effort to learn from them. This closing remark resonated with me greatly, in aspiring to learn as much as possible while on my traineeship.